Author: Healio ophthalmology

In Memoriam of our founder: Charles B. Slack

THOROFARE, NJ — Charles B. Slack, founder of Charles B. Slack Incorporated, which later became SLACK Incorporated and the Wyanoke Group, publisher of many health care titles including Healio.com, died on May 27 at the age of 87 years.Slack was the founder of a company that became one of the last great American family-owned medical publishers to succeed in the 20th and 21st centuries.

PUBLICATION EXCLUSIVE: Improvements in instruments, sterilization and anesthesia set stage for office-based vitreoretinal surgeries

Remarkable advances in vitreoretinal surgery have occurred in the past 20 years. Diversified and miniaturized instruments have been produced, surgical time has dropped, and most procedures are done under local anesthesia, all of which have made hospitalization unnecessary in many cases. The number of vitreoretinal procedures performed in an outpatient setting has grown, and some surgeons feel that the time is about right to shift surgery to the office.“There are currently 5,500 ambulatory surgical centers in the U.S. doing 25 million surgeries. We feel comfortable with it, at least in (Read more...)

Private equity offers new option for ophthalmology practice consolidation

Ophthalmologists and ophthalmology practices are steering toward consolidation in a fragmented market, and private equity firms may offer a new option for physicians as the firms look to invest in the field.Private equity firms, investment management companies that make investments in operating companies or startup companies, have been focusing their attention more on the ophthalmology field over the last several years. For example, in May 2014, Varsity Healthcare Partners, a health care services-focused private equity investment firm, acquired Katzen Eye Group, one of the nation’s largest ophthalmologic and optometric services (Read more...)

Do you believe private equity investment will be more successful than the physician practice management companies’ attempt at consolidations in the 1990s?

PointFor many years, eye care has been considered “outside the nest” of traditional medicine, and now as the payer world is evolving and there are solid attempts to consolidate through ACOs, IPAs, mergers and acquisitions, we need to find a way to differentiate ourselves and jump back into that “nest.” It is more critical than ever that we proactively build strong relationships with payers and legislators. We must invite them into our world to help them understand who we are and where we fit in the health care continuum. Consolidation (Read more...)

Woman referred for blurry vision, flashes of light and floaters

A 26-year-old Caucasian woman with a 3-day history of blurry vision, flashes of light and floaters in her left eye was referred by an outside comprehensive ophthalmologist for a retina evaluation. She had a medical history significant for hypothyroidism managed with a low dose of levothyroxine. Her ocular history was remarkable for one episode of unilateral iritis 3 years ago. She was a non-smoker, denied intravenous drug use and was in a monogamous relationship with her boyfriend. Her family history was non-contributory. On review of systems, she denied shortness of (Read more...)

Both junior and senior practice partners could benefit from private equity transaction

In the following paragraphs I would like to present an illustration of how a private equity transaction might work for an ophthalmology private practice, and it is important to emphasize the word “might” with the usual caveats about inability to predict the future. Nonetheless, I think the illustration will help many understand the economics.First, a few personal thoughts and disclosures. My partners and I at Minnesota Eye Consultants (MEC) recently completed a private equity (PE) transaction with Waud Capital of Chicago to create an entity called United Vision Partners (UVP). (Read more...)

AAFP, AMA: Congressional Budget Office report shows AHCA needs work

The presidents of AAFP and AMA have unleashed a new round of criticism regarding the American Health Care Act, the bill initiating the repeal of the Affordable Care Act that narrowly passed the House earlier this month.The groups’ comments come after the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and Joint Committee on Taxation released a report on Wednesday that indicated the House-passed version of the American Health Care Act (AHCA) would leave 14 million more people uninsured than under the present law. According to the CBO report, that number would increase to (Read more...)

Roclatan meets primary efficacy endpoint in phase 3 study

Roclatan, a once-daily fixed-dose combination drug for lowering IOP, has achieved its primary efficacy endpoint in the Mercury 2 phase 3 study, Aerie Pharmaceuticals announced in a press release.The 90-day trial compared Roclatan — a combination of Rhopressa (netarsudil ophthalmic solution 0.02%) and latanoprost — with monotherapy of each of its components. IOP was measured three times daily at 2 weeks, 6 weeks and 90 days. Roclatan reduced IOP between 1.5 mm Hg and 2.4 mm Hg more than latanoprost alone and between 2.2 mm Hg and 3.3 mm Hg (Read more...)

ClearSight’s parent company acquired by China-based firm

Sharklet Technologies, the parent company of ClearSight, has been acquired by the China-based equity medical device firm Peaceful Union, ClearSight announced in a press release.“We believe that the biomimetic approach used by Sharklet Technologies will not only produce the most advanced IOL, but will most likely enhance the performance of a wide range of ophthalmic products,” Khalid “Kal” Mentak, PhD, CEO of ClearSight, said in the release.

Congressional Budget Office estimates $119 billion in savings over 10 years for House-passed AHCA

The Congressional Budget Office — a non-partisan scoring agency — and the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation released its cost estimate for the House-passed version of the American Health Care Act and estimated $119 billion in net savings from 2017 to 2026 for the proposed health care plan. Republicans needed the bill to shave off $2 billion from the federal deficit over the decade span for it to be considered under the reconciliation process in the Senate.

High-risk pools may raise health care costs for all Americans

Reinstituting high-risk pools as a state option as part of the American Health Care Act that was recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives would move health care policy in the United States “a huge step backward,” as it would segregate individuals with preexisting conditions from the broader insurance pool and increase costs for everyone, according to a commentary published in Annals of Internal Medicine. “Historically, high-risk pools have not worked well,” Jean P. Hall, PhD, from the University of Kansas Medical Center, wrote. “They generally have not provided (Read more...)